SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Friday marked 37-years since a mid-air collision over San Diego took the lives of more than 140 people.
Dozens of people gathered in North Park Friday to remember the victims and renew a push to erect a permanent memorial at the site where PSA Flight 182 went down.
The crash of PSA Flight 182 remains the deadliest in California History.
PSA Flight 182 collided with a Cessna in mid-air, killing all 135 passengers on the Boeing 727. Both people on the Cessna and seven people on the ground in the North Park neighborhood also died.
Rick Carlson was a San Diego Police officer on September 25, 1978, exactly 37-years Friday, yet, he still remembers the scene like it was yesterday, especially one woman in particular.
"She was just screaming. She ran down the street, and I said - what's wrong - and she said - well, I was talking to my mom and the phone went dead - and I said - where does she live - and we both looked at the same time. The house was gone. There was no house there anymore," said Carlson.
Every year the victims are remembered with a special ceremony, but it takes place on what is now a nondescript corner with no permanent reminder of the tragedy that happened.
A crash that took so many lives, including UC San Diego student Michael Sulit.
Michael's sister, Myra Pelowski, is now par of a renewed effort to get a permanent memorial somewhere in North Park.
"We know this is a neighborhood. We know we want to be respectful of the neighbors and we don't want something outlandish. We want to have something tasteful, but also that's commemorative of our loved ones," she said.
Several community leaders support the idea. Giving families of those killed, a reason for optimism, including the daughter of the PSA Flight 182 pilot.
"Thirty-seven years later, to have this enthusiasm keep going to remember all the people that were lost and all the families and friends affected is pretty special," said Marcie Walker.
Organizers said that even with support from elected officials, it will take several years to cut through all the red tape to make their dreams of a permanent memorial a reality.